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Eighteen25 – Feb Post

An oldie, but good one – this post originally ran on Eighteen 25 as a guest post.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and Sarah and I were craving a simple and sweet DIY for our girls to wear. I had visions of complicated appliquéd pillowcase dresses – until Sarah suggested an elbow heart patch cardigan or long sleeve tee transformation.

Done! Sold! Make one in my size, too! This super easy DIY can be completed in about 20 minutes and can either be simply sewed or no-sew.

You’ll need:

a cardigan or long sleeve tee

contrasting felt

embroidery thread or regular sewing thread

needle

scissors

chalk or fabric pen

sewing pins or an extra needle

If you’re going the no sew route, skip the needle and thread and grab some fabric glue and wax paper or foil

Start by trying the cardi or long sleeve tee on it’s intended wearer. After a thorough wiggling (or if it’s for yourself, wrap up in a a self-hug to be sure the cardi/shirt is in the right spot) mark (with chalk or a fabric pen – or let’s be honest, whatever is laying closest) the spot where the elbow hits on each arm with an X.

Cut two hearts out of felt (we used the super inexpensive small felt sheets from the craft store) that are the width of the sleeve or a little narrower. Use a template if you’re inclined.

Pin the center of the heart over the X – double check to be sure you’ve only pinned it to ONE layer of cardi or tee. Thread the needle and stitch the heart onto the arm. You can use a fancy stitch or just a simple, straight running stitch. Repeat on the other elbow!

To ‘no sew’ this, simply line the sleeve with wax paper or foil so the glue doesn’t seep through the fabric, lay the sleeve flat and glue the felt heart onto the fabric following the instructions on your fabric glue.

Our shirt has been through three washings (hang to dry) and the felt is looking loved but holding up great.